226. Tech Stacks Made Simple: What Non-Technical Innovators Should (and Shouldn't) Do
Oct 30, 2024
Have you ever wondered about how to work with developers effectively without becoming one yourself?
It all starts with five simple, non-technical questions.
In this episode, you'll learn what you need to bring to the table for your developers to build a great tech stack.
Timestamps
00:00 Introduction to Non-Technical Collaboration
03:12 Understanding the Tech Stack
06:05 Bringing Value as a Non-Technical Person
08:50 Key Questions for Developers
10:45 Importance of Innovation in Tech
For more career & tech lessons, subscribe to Tech for Non-Techies on:
FREE GUIDE: The Pragmatist’s Guide To Innovation (in business & in life)
by Sophia Matveeva, supported by researchers from The University of Chicago
Growth Through Innovation
If your organisation wants to drive revenue through innovation, book a call with us here.
Our workshops and innovation strategies have helped Constellation Brands, the Royal Bank of Canada and Oxford University.
Transcript
Sophia Matveeva (00:00.61)
Have you ever wondered about how to work with developers effectively without becoming one yourself? Well, it all starts with five simple non-technical questions. And in this episode, you'll learn what you need to bring to the table for your developers to build a great tech stack.
Sophia Matveeva (00:22.191)
for the Tech for Techies podcast. I'm your host, tech entrepreneur, executive coach at Chicago Booth MBA, Safiya Matheer. My aim here is to help you have a great career in the digital age. In a time when even your coffee shop has an app, you simply have to speak tech. On this podcast, I share core technology concepts, help you relate them to business outcomes, and most importantly, share practical advice
on what you can do to become a digital leader today. If you want to a great career in the digital age, this podcast is for you. Hello smart people. How are you today? I'm in Buckingham right now and it is sunny literally every day. I didn't know that this was possible and it's absolutely amazing. And honestly, how am I ever going to go back to London, which is literally the capital of rain and gray skies.
Anyway, in this episode, we're going to get back to basics and talk about the relationships between technology and how people behave. And once you understand that link, then being a non-technical person in the digital age becomes very clear. Also, I have actually taught this to engineers too, because the tech and non-tech sides are basically two sides of the same coin. Both are trying to create something with different types of expertise.
Think about it like, Ocean's 11. In Ocean's 11, each specialist comes with their own unique skillset. And that's why they're there. They're there because they all bring something new and they all bring something different. And this episode is perfect for non-technical innovators. So if you're planning to make an app, for example, you must listen to this episode. You can be in a corporate or at a startup, but if you aim to make a tech product as a non-technical person,
This episode is for you. And before we continue, my dear smart person, are you a subscriber to this show? If not, hit that subscribe button now to get excellent free lessons specifically for non-technical people about how to succeed and build products in the digital age. This podcast is top rated for a reason. Okay. So let's start with what engineers do.
Sophia Matveeva (02:43.062)
engineers work on the tech stack and you might think, okay, that's not very helpful. What on earth is a tech stack? Well, we are going to learn about it. So the definition, the technical definition is that a tech stack is a set of technologies and organization users to build a web or mobile application. It's a combination of programming languages, frameworks, libraries, patterns, servers, UI, UX solutions, software and tools used by developers.
That is quite a mouthful. So now let's make it a bit more understandable. So basically forget about technology for a moment and think about your kitchen. What do you need to have in your house in order to make dinner? Well, so in your kitchen, you need running water, you need electricity and or gas. You also need a stove, an oven, a microwave, the stove top and the sink and the fridge.
And then you also need a bunch of other smaller and cheaper, but really necessary things like plates and chopping boards, wooden spoons and so on. And what else do you need? Well, you herbs and spices and definitely salt, maybe pepper, maybe some olive oil and so on. So think of your kitchen's tech stack as all of the stuff that you need to create dinner. And all of this stuff is quite different. So some of it is infrastructure, like your
plumbing, that infrastructure that you don't see, but that you definitely need. And also some of it enhances your user experience like a wooden spoon. And you can take the same logic to making an app. Your tech stack is going to have a wide variety of tools to make your app from backend infrastructure, which you cannot see like your plumbing, to app design that you interact with, which is like the equivalent of your wooden spoon on your plate.
And now my dear smart people, let us picture Gordon Ramsay. If you don't know who he is, he's a very famous British chef who is known for yelling and swearing at people. Actually, it seems that quite a lot of chefs are kind of angry people. Anyway, so imagine if you went into Gordon Ramsay's kitchen and then you started telling him what tools to use to make a steak. How will Gordon Ramsay react?
Sophia Matveeva (05:06.412)
What will happen? Well, if you've watched any programs by him or about him, you might not even come out alive. I mean, you certainly wouldn't come out feeling happy. There will be public humiliation and there will be colorful insults. And if it was on video, you would definitely become a meme. It is the same with software. If you're on the non-technical side, you have absolutely no business telling tech experts what should be in the tech stack.
It is the technologist's job to know what goes into the tech stack. So don't annoy them or undermine them by directing what you don't know. Of course you can ask questions and of course you can make suggestions, but the tech stack is not your area of expertise. Also, it shouldn't be your aim to make it your area of expertise unless you're going to pivot your career and become a developer. So basically I've told you what not to do.
So what do you need to do instead? What do you bring to the table as a non-technical person? Well, your target expertise area is to know how your target customers behave, how they use their phones, how they use their computers. And if you don't know the stuff, then basically you should survey and ask your customers. Because this is the information that you need to tell your tech colleagues because that's not information that they know. So this is how it works.
You bring something to the table that they don't have. Remember, it's like Ocean's 11. So if your engineering colleagues know how your users behave, they can tailor a tech stack to your users' needs. It's like going to restaurant and telling the chef what food allergies and preferences your guests have. So you give the chef this information and then they choose the tools to make something delicious within the constraints that you gave them. So here are five simple questions.
that you should get the answers to about your users and then tell your developers. Question number one, will the application exist on mobile or on desktop? You have a different tech stack depending on whether it's mobile or desktop, so find out. Number two, if on mobile, will it be on Android or on Apple?
Sophia Matveeva (07:26.136)
So Android and Apple apps are literally coded in different languages. And yes, there are some hybrid apps, but they are in the minority and for a very good reason. If you're making an app, you need to know where your main market is, Apple or Android. I actually did an episode on the benefits of either platform. So just scroll back to find it. Okay. Now question number three. If your product is on desktop.
What browsers will be used the most? Will it be Chrome? Will it be Mozilla? Will it be Safari? Will it be something else? Because they all make a difference to your text app. Number four, is it an open access application that will receive lots of users? So for example, are you making a free news site or a free entertainment site about celebrity gossip? If you're making a new version of the Daily Mail or of Netflix, your
product will need to be able to handle lots and lots of traffic and not crash. So you have to tell your engineers this because they need to build that kind of infrastructure. Number five, does your product hold sensitive data that needs to be super secure? Like for example, are you making a banking app or something that handles cash or really sensitive records? Because again, the tech stack for that is going to be different too if you're making a mobile game, for example.
And obviously, these things will change over time because your users, your customers will change over time and you'll have to keep an eye on them. So as your users' behavior changes, your tech stack will change too. So remember that Facebook started off as a mainly desktop application. And in my youth, I remember connecting my digital camera to my laptop so I could upload my photos. This was real dedication.
But when Steve Jobs gave us the iPhone, user behavior changed. We all fell in love with apps and sharing photos from our phones and Mark Zuckerberg, well, he spotted it. And then he pivoted Facebook to being mobile first. He saw how behavior changed and adjusted the tech stack accordingly. And this is how you innovate. I read a quote from Ben Horowitz, the co-founder of A16Z and that's the venture capital firm.
Sophia Matveeva (09:46.636)
They're invested in Facebook, Airbnb, Dropbox and many others. And he said, etymologically, the word technology means a better way of doing things. As a result, innovation is the core competency for technology companies. Technology companies are born because they create a better way of doing things. Eventually, someone else will come up with a better way. Therefore, if a technology company ceases to innovate, it will die.
And I have just given you the methodology for tech innovation as a non-technical innovator. You are welcome. I can't wait to see what you do with this lesson. By the way, did you find this lesson useful? If you did, which I'm assuming you did because you are still here listening, then have you left the show a rating and a review? Honestly, it takes me time and effort to create high quality learning content for you. So if you're
benefiting from this work, then it's only fair for you to leave this show a rating and review because honestly, really does help this show get discovered by other smart, lovely people like you and promotes my work. So thank you in advance. And on that note, have a wonderful day and I shall be back in your delightful smart ears next week. Ciao.
Sign up to our mailing list!
Be the first to hear about offers, classes and events
